Big US companies including Walt Disney and Comcast increased advertising spending on Instagram after pausing commercials on X last month, according to Sensor Tower, as marketers flee the Elon Musk-owned social media platform over antisemitic content.
Disney and Comcastlifted their US spending on the app owned by Meta by 40 percent and about 6 p[ercent, respectively in the two weeks from November 20, Sensor Tower data showed, a Reuters report said, adding, Paramount, meanwhile, tripled its spending on Snapchat.
The figures underscore the challenge facing Musk, who in late November unleashed a profanity-laced tirade against advertisers who had dropped X, formerly known as Twitter.
The billionaire has seen several advertisers flee the platform after he endorsed an antisemitic post that falsely claimed members of the Jewish community were stoking hatred against white people. He has apologized for sharing the post.
“Brands are intelligent about these choices, and any brand safety concerns will be met with a re-allocation of budgets away from troubled platforms,” said Felipe Thomaz, associate professor of marketing at University of Oxford.
Disney, Comcast, Paramount and X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“While platforms like X are likely to maintain a core niche of users, the overall trends show consumers are swapping out text-based social networking apps for photo and video-first platforms,” mobile analytics firm data.ai said in a report earlier this month.
“Along with a series of mismanagement and public image fumbles for X, there is a general shift of where news content is being absorbed,” it added.